As someone deeply in debt and unemployed for years and being the sole carer (without government assistance) of my severely mentally ill girlfriend, I very much needed a job.. any job to pull us out of a very very deep financial hole. So I applied for job after job until a taxi company offered to employ me immediately. I was excited to be accepted so quickly when I’d faced nothing but rejections. I soon discovered of course that I’d have to pay many hundreds of dollars myself to do a course and fulfill the relevant requirements to become a taxi driver first. That was fine, I would borrow even more and soon pay this off once I started working since I now have a guaranteed job. Once paid for the course I was then told it was suddenly no longer available in my town so I had to pay for travel and accommodation to complete the course elsewhere. No problem so far.. just bad luck. After completing the course and obtaining my ancillary PPV license I was given one day “training” by my cab company which involved observation of a shift only and no actual driving. The very next day I was sent out on my own in a very large vehicle to strap in and transport disabled people while getting the hang of the onboard systems. This was very daunting as I’d never driven a vehicle of this size before and had to make some very tight parking with it which I somehow got the hang of under very stressful situations. I voiced my concern that I didn’t feel ready and could maybe benefit from half hour of driving in my own and practicing parking but was told to just get on with it. So I did. Towards the end of my first shift I encountered a very angry customer located in a very precarious location off the shoulder of a highway for pickup. I turned into the location and once in the driveway realized there was no room to turn the large vehicle around. Backing onto the highway would have been incredible dangerous as I had zero visibility and cars were whizzing by at 100kmph. I asked the customer if he could maybe get out and check if traffic was coming so I could back out.. he became incredibly irate at this suggestion and pointed to a carport with access to the street in front of me. I told him I was concerned that even though it looked as if the cab would get under the clearance I was unsure if it would fit. He began swearing at me and saying that he takes this cab ride every day and all the cabs go that way because the backing on to the highway is suicide. He continues to berate me. I ask if he could get out of the vehicle and make sure I was getting under the carport clearance just to be safe. He said he had a bad back and would not be doing this and continues to swear and carry on so at that point I proceeded very slowly to go under the carport. There was just enough room it turned out however a small branch lodged itself into the topsign of my cab as I slowly drove under. Hearing something I stopped right away and began to slowly back out again. The branch was caught and tore off the top sign. I rang base at this point to report the incident. I had an argument with management over it and quit the job the next day. Now they have sent me a bill for $1500 which is the excess that I signed responsibility over to when I joined the company for any accident that was my fault. I’m unsure how things work with insurance but I do know they had spare top signs and had their own private mechanic fix the vehicle in time for the next shift. $1500 just seems very steep for this sign only and no other damage to the vehicle. Also while technically this incident WAS my fault.. I should not have been so intimidated by a customer on my first day or acted on information he gave me, however I don’t believe I was properly trained and that enough was done to inform me of how to handle such situations. At the least I could have had someone supervise me for my first shift out until I was confident. I’m sure legally I have no leg to stand on as I signed the insurance forms when I took the job but I wanted to write and ask here just in case anyone thinks I could pursue something here or thinks I shouldn’t have to pay this much at least under the circumstances? What happens if I can’t pay? Most nights myself and my gf don’t eat as it is. We have no car or possessions at all full stop aside from an old TV and our fridge and bed. We have no income other than one government payment that barely covers rent and electric. We are over 20k in debt. I can’t see any money being spared in the foreseeable future.
New job with poor training. Do I have a case?
- Thread starter Dan Fox
- Start date
I don't see how they can charge $1500 "excess" when they fixed the vehicle themselves without the involvement of an insurance company. Sounds dodgy to me.
As for the amount being excessive, it depends on how much it would cost to replace the sign - they are expensive and depending on type and functionality, can cost a couple of thousand dollars new. The fact that they have spares isn't really relevant because any signs that they already have were paid for at some point in time, just as a new one would need to be, and just as the damaged one was.
All that aside, I agree with you that there's an issue regarding insufficient training and I certainly wouldn't be comfortable if I was a passenger and knew of your circumstances. In my view, when it comes to drivers of public passenger vehicles, the total lack of practical on the job training by this company puts the drivers, passengers and the public all at serious risk.
Yeah there was unfortunately a signed agreement that if any accident was my fault I’d be financially responsible, the amount at discretion of management.. which I know legally I guess allows them to ask for any unrealistic amount they want to and that’s that.. but if I just don’t pay (because there’s just no money) what actually happens? Do they have to take me to court? And say it goes to court and a judge orders me to pay. It still doesn’t change the fact that I can’t so I don’t know where that leaves things .
Offer a payment plan of $10/wk, without admission of fault, else allow it to go court, without acknowledging any debt, and tell court if they find the debt proven, you can't pay. Court will then ask for a payment plan, at say $10/wk.
The company has to first show you were somehow negligent. It may be a court will say they are wholly or partly responsible due to lack of training.
The company has to first show you were somehow negligent. It may be a court will say they are wholly or partly responsible due to lack of training.
